Back to Main Table of Contents

Chapter 5. The Brazil r/s Render Dialog

Table of Contents

5.1  General Options

Fig. 5.1  General Options Dialog

5.1.1  Tools

5.1.1.1  Show Console

Clicking on this button will bring up the Brazil Console if it is not open.

5.1.1.2  Show VFB

Clicking on this button will bring up the Virtual Frame Buffer window if it is not open.  For large frames, the max VFB is provided as a solution for reducing memory usage.

 5.1.1.3  Load Brazil Preset

This option lets you open customized settings for the VFB.

5.1.1.4  Save Brazil Preset

This option lets you save presets for the VFB.  You can save any customized settings that you have made to the VFB and load them at a later time.

5.1.1.5  Virtual Frame Buffer

The dropdown box has four presets for changing the look of the VFB. Fig 5.1a  Virtual Frame Buffer dropdown

5.1.1.5.1  Brazil VFB

This is the current implementation of the Brazil VFB.

5.1.1.5.2  Max VFB

This is the standard VFB that you normally use inside of Max.

5.1.2  Console Options

5.1.2.1  Auto Launch

This is similar to the frame buffer’s Auto Launch checkbox, but instead this controls the automatic opening of the console window.

5.1.2.2  Clear on new frame

When this checkbox is active, the Brazil console will clear itself each time a render is started.

5.1.2.3  Verbose Level

The Verbose Level controls the number of commands that are seen in the console window.  The higher the verbose level, the more commands you will see being sent to the rendering system.

5.1.3  Bucketing Options

5.1.3.1  Size

This number denotes the size of the width and height of each bucket in pixels. Fig. 5.2  Bucket size rollout

5.1.3.2  Order

The Order option allows you to choose the order in which the buckets render.  Choosing Top to Bottom will render rows of buckets from left to right, beginning with the top row and working its way down.  The Left to right option will render columns of buckets from top to bottom, beginning with the left column of buckets and working its way to the right.  Center Out works from the center of the image to the outer edges.  Choosing the Random option is a fun one that will randomly select buckets to render.  The final option for order is the Priority Map.  Choosing this option will enable the priority map slot below, which is used to assign the map.  The priority map works on RGB values, beginning at white and working to black.  Any of these methods can run in reverse order if you turn on the “R” button next to the order drop down.
  Fig. 5.3  Bucketing Order

5.1.4  Multithreading Options

5.1.4.1  On

Very straightforward, this is where you turn multi-threading on and  off.

5.1.4.2  Low Priority Thread

This checkbox allows you to turn the priority of rendering to a low priority thread, allowing other processes to take precedence before it.

5.1.4.3  Use All Procs

By turning this option on, you will enable all of the processors in the machine to be used to render buckets.  If you disable this option, the Threads option will become available, allowing you to define the number of threads you would like to use.

5.1.4.4  Threads

This option is enabled when “Use All Procs” is not checked.  This determines how many threads of the system should be used to render the scene.
 

5.3  Sampling Parameters

5.3.1  Image Sampling Control

Fig 5.4  Image Sampling Rollout

5.3.1.1  Sampling Display

The sampling display tells you the min and max  rates used for the image sampling.  The number in the figure above, [1x1], represents the number of samples used per pixel.  If you are using adaptive sampling, there will be two sets of numbers in this box, one stating the minimum number of samples used, and one stating the maximum number of samples used.

5.3.1.2  Min Samples

The min samples used to antialias your images.  This is the base number used for every pixel in the image.  A higher number will improve image quality, but will also increase your render times.

5.3.1.3  Max Samples

The max samples are used when the system needs to adaptively sample the image.  Normally the renderer goes through the image using the Minimum Sample value, but if it encounters an area that meets the requirements that you set based on the contrast and the various detection methods in the Image Sampling Control it will adaptively use up to the Maximum Samples value that you set.  Increasing samples will increase render times dramatically.  By keeping the max samples at 0 or at the same number of min samples, you disable the adaptive sampling.

5.3.1.4  Jitter Samples

The Jitter setting is the random distribution of the samples. This prevents any normal patterns of sampling in the different buckets combatting aliasing effects.

5.3.1.5  Low Contrast/High Contrast

These two items are used to compare the contrast needed to trigger the adaptive sampling for that pixel.

5.3..1.6  Show Adapt Samples

This option allows you to see where extra samples are being used in your renders.  The color picker to the right lets you choose a color to represent your adaptive samples.  In areas with a high concentration of adaptive samples, the color from the color picker will be placed on your images.  This is most noticeable at the edges of objects.

5.3.1.7  Object Edge

By turning on this option, the engine will check for a change in edges of the objects, and if needed, will apply antialiasing.

5. 3.1.8  RPrim Edge

If there is a geometry case that does not seem to work with the other options, turning this on will check the edges of faces on the object and apply antialiasing that way.

5.3.1.9  Smooth Groups

This operates in the same manner as the Object Edge option, but checks the smoothing groups for changes and applies appropriate adaptive sampling.

5.3.1.10  Material ID

This option will use Material IDs to check where objects should use adaptive samples.
 

5.3.2  Depth of Field Sampling

Fig. 5.5  Depth Of Field Sampling Rollout

5.3.2.1  On

This checkbox is used for turning depth of field on and off.

5.3.2.1  Initial Rate

This is the minimum DoF samples to do for each image sample.  The number of DoF samples is initial rate^2.  Tthis is the base quality.

5.3.2.3  Adapt Levels

 This is how many times to recursively refine that sample pattern.

5.3.2.4  f-Stop

This setting controls the opening and closing of the “aperture” of the Brazil camera.  It works in the same way as a normal camera would.  Lower values will yield less depth-of-field (less focus), and higher values will yield a greater depth of field (more focus).

5.3.2.5  Jitter

The Jitter setting is the random distribution of the samples. This prevents any normal patterns of sampling in the different buckets.

5.3.2.6  Focal Distance

This is the distance from the camera to the focal planes.  Objects falling on the plane at this distance will appear completely in focus in the rendered image.  By using the distance between the camera and the camera’s focal point, you can easily figure out what this number needs to be in order to have your objects in focus.

5.3.2.7  Bokeh

The bokeh filter is a phenomenon in photography, where parts of an image that are extremely out of focus and are very bright will “bloom”, causing large rings or other shapes to appear in the image.  Think of an image of a street at night that is out of focus.  All of the street lamps that are out of focus will usually show up as large octagons or hexagons.  This is the bokeh effect.

There are currently four options that you can use.  The default bokeh setting is to use the current antialiasing filter.  You can use all the filters available in Max to generate bokeh that falls off at the edge of the lens.  The second option, Flat Disc, is the normal even disc distribution. Linear and Exponential are used for creating rings. When you choose the Exponential setting, a spinner is enabled that allows you to adjust the exponent used.
 

Fig. 5.6  Showing the different settings at work.
 
 

5.4 Image / Texture Filtering Parameters

5.4.1  Image Filter

Fig. 5.7  Image Filtering Rollout
 
 The Image Filter settings are similar to the current settings that are in the default Max scanline renderer.   When you select a filter, a brief description shows up below the selection box and the options for that filter become available to the right.
 
 
  Fig. 5.8  Image Filters

5.4.1.1  Area

The area filter is the default filter used from the original version of Max.  The antialiasing is rather mediocre at best.  Adjusting the radius setting will modify the area used for sampling.

5.4.1.2  Mitchell-Netravali

The Mit-Net filter is used to trade off between the two parameters of blurring and ringing.  Weighting these two parameters in different ways will actually achieve other filter effects.  Setting Blur to 0.0, and Ringing to 0.5 gives the Catmull-Rom filter.  0.0/1.0 is a Cubic filter. This is a better filter than the area filter overall,

5.4.1.3  Catmull-Rom

A wide and rather sharp filter. Good for enhancing edges.

5.4.1.4  Cook Variable

A general purpose variable size filter that can produce sharp or soft effects depending on the radius.

5.4.1.5  Blackman

A sharp filter with no edge enhancement. Sometimes useful for print.

5.4.1.6  Video (NTSC / PAL)

A soft filter intended for use with NTSC / PAL.

5.4.1.7  Gaussian

A general purpose variable filter that produces a soft gaussian blur. For large blurring effects, it's suggested you blur your image as a post process in a piece of compositing software, or using a render effect, not with this filter.

5.4.2  2D Map Filtering

The 2D Map Filtering determines how bitmapped textures are filtered in your scene.

5.4.2.1  On

This turns the map filtering on and off.

5.4.2.1  Derivative Blur/Bump Derivative Blur

This is the multiplier to Blur Offset for maps on faces whose normals are perpendicular to the camera. I.e. increasing this increases blurring of maps at the edges of objects (faces that are perpendicular to your view).

5.4.2.2  Blur Offset/Bump Blur Offset

The overall amount of blur applied to maps. Fig. 5.9  Different Derivative Blur and Blur Offset Settings